Electric transmission lines run through a clearing in Alexandria. (Photo by Molly Rains/New Hampshire Bulletin)
The New Hampshire Department of Energy is hiring a consultant to assess whether it would be feasible for the state to cut itself off or step back from the regional power grid.
The Executive Council approved a $230,056 contract with Boston-based London Economics International, LLC, for the study at its meeting on Jan. 28. The payment will be assessed to New Hampshire’s utilities, which can petition the Public Utilities Commission to recover costs through rates.
The contract follows last year’s House Bill 690, which directed the New Hampshire Department of Energy to study the feasibility of “withdrawal” from the nonprofit that operates the regional electric grid, ISO-New England.
No other state among the six served by ISO-NE, which formed in 1997, has withdrawn before. Executive Councilor Karen Liot Hill, a Democrat representing District Two, said many of her constituents regarded the study as “a foolish exercise.” Critics argued last year that regional transmission organizations like ISO-NE save ratepayer costs and fill regulatory roles that are costly and difficult for states to meet on their own.
But a majority of the council approved the expenditure, and HB 690 co-sponsor Rep. James Summers, a Newton Republican, said in an interview the price tag was in line with his expectations for the study’s cost.
“It may not lead to us leaving the ISO, but it’s a great learning experience,” he said.
Short for “Independent System Operator,” the nonprofit coordinates power flow from generators to users throughout the region and oversees the wholesale electricity market. It also conducts electrical demand analysis and market research it says are intended to inform planning around New England’s future energy needs, and is regulated by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
Utilities and transmission owners, not states themselves, are members of ISO-NE, according to the organization’s website. So while New Hampshire itself could not “withdraw” from the organization, it could direct in-state members to do so.
Summers said a major reason for the study was to learn more about whether other states’ renewable energy policies were affecting rates in New Hampshire — such as investments in offshore wind and solar development, which New Hampshire has largely stepped away from.
If New Hampshire were to separate from the grid, the state could no longer rely on neighbors to meet energy demand at times when in-state generation is insufficient. Summers noted that Seabrook Power Plant typically generates more energy than the state requires, though New Hampshire would need to pursue its own contract with the plant. At times the plant is down, such as during maintenance, Summers identified fossil fuel generation with coal or gas, or biomass, as possible ways to bridge the gap.
Among other questions, the bill directs the Department of Energy to assess potential costs and benefits of withdrawing from the ISO, regulatory gaps that departure would leave, and new restrictions the state could face without oversight from the organization.
The contract with the consultant was needed, said New Hampshire Department of Energy Commissioner Jared Chicoine at the meeting, because the department did not have the tools or experts to answer certain questions posed by the bill.
“We did need these technical experts to help us,” he said, with tools like “economic modeling software” that the department did not have in house.
Chicoine said he expected the study to be complete by July 2026.
This story was originally published by New Hampshire Bulletin and is being reprinted here under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. Click here to visit NH Bulletin and view their other stories.